


Domestic Disagreements

by Katrina_Viv



Series: Aziraphale/Crowley Chronicles [7]
Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Arguments, Aromantic Aziraphale, Aromantic Crowley, Asexual Aziraphale (Good Omens), Asexual Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale is super awkward for a 6000-year-old supernatural being, Cuddling & Snuggling, Disagreements, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Extreme Modesty, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Ineffable Husbands (Good Omens), M/M, Queerplatonic Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-19
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-07-08 09:10:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19867111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katrina_Viv/pseuds/Katrina_Viv
Summary: Crowley and Aziraphale love each other very much, but now that they're living together, they have their moments of exasperation.





	1. Unholy Music

Aziraphale was sitting at the desk in his bedroom, reading a book. Meanwhile, Crowley was having a solo dance party in his own bedroom. Even though Crowley had gotten some Bluetooth headphones out of respect for Aziraphale’s music preferences, today Aziraphale could hear him  _ singing  _ the songs he was dancing to. Unfortunately for the angel, he could hear some  _ very  _ unholy lyrics.

Aziraphale had never heard these songs before, so he Googled the lyrics out of curiosity. (Crowley had given him a tablet computer a while back, though he rarely used it.) __

_ Hmm...Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert, Ke$ha...I’ve never heard of these people! _ thought Aziraphale. And now that he had a more complete view of the lyrics, he was feeling rather uncomfortable and embarrassed on Crowley’s behalf. 

Aziraphale left his room and walked across the house to Crowley’s bedroom. After taking a minute to collect his thoughts, he knocked on the door.

Crowley opened the door almost immediately, his headphones now around his neck. “What is it, angel?”

“Um, well, I don’t know if you were aware of this, but I could hear you singing.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was I bothering you?”

“I wouldn’t really mind, except for the fact that some of those songs are so... _ sexual _ . How can you stand to sing them?”

Crowley’s face changed slightly, in a way that Aziraphale couldn’t understand. (In actuality, Crowley was suppressing a chuckle.)

“Oh, Aziraphale…” Crowley felt bad that his angel looked so serious about this. “Come on in.”

The two sat down on Crowley’s bed together.

“It’s just music,” explained Crowley. “I like the tunes and the beats. They’re fun to dance to. I don’t really think about the lyrics that much. I mean, being a demon and all, I’ve heard  _ much  _ worse.”

“So...you don’t  _ mean  _ what you’re singing, then...? I really don’t like thinking about those... _ topics _ , and I suppose I’ve always thought you were the same way.”

Crowley gave his friend a small side hug. “No, Aziraphale. I don’t mean it at all. Like I said, I barely pay any attention to what the lyrics are about. I’ve just learned the words from listening to the songs so much. Humans just seem to want to put sex in everything nowadays. But to me, it’s just silly words. I’m sorry I made you feel bad. I didn’t realize it would bother you so much.”

“You don’t want to  _ do  _ anything described in those songs, do you? I mean, if you could.”

“No, not at all! You of all people should understand that that’s one part of humanity that I am not at all interested in.”

Aziraphale smiled a bit - Crowley’s response had reassured him that he was still the same wholesome-on-the-inside demon Aziraphale had always thought he was. 

“Do you want me to stop singing?” Crowley asked.

“I don’t want to make you stop singing!” replied Aziraphale. “But could you just not sing  _ those  _ kinds of songs when I’m in the house?”

“Of course, angel. I’ll do anything to make you feel safe and happy.”

The two hugged, and then Aziraphale went outside to walk around the garden while Crowley continued his dancing.


	2. Don't You Trust Me?

Aziraphale woke up early one morning, still nestled against Crowley. He snuggled close to the still-sleeping demon for a few more minutes, then figured he should get up. Aziraphale looked around for his pajama shirt that he had taken off the night before...it was nowhere to be seen. Aziraphale tried to see if it had fallen off Crowley's side of the bed.

"What are you doing, angel?" Crowley said sleepily. Crowley had woken up, confused by Aziraphale leaning over him.

"Can you see if my pajama shirt is on the floor on your side?" asked Aziraphale.

"Okay." Crowley sort of rolled out of bed, found the shirt, and handed it to Aziraphale, who was mostly hidden under the covers.

"Thank you, my love," said Aziraphale with a smile. He then wriggled into the shirt and buttoned it up without Crowley seeing much more than his bare shoulders.

As always, Crowley was confused by Aziraphale's reluctance to ever be visibly undressed, even though he enjoyed a shirtless snuggle now and then.

The demon started to look through his closet to figure out what he wanted to wear that day. 

"You should wear that dark blue shirt!" suggested Aziraphale. "You haven't worn that in quite some time."

"Great idea," said Crowley, taking the shirt from his closet and putting it on.

"Well, I'll let you get dressed," said Aziraphale, heading toward the bedroom door.

"Angel, wait." Crowley remembered something he had wanted to say for a while. “Why do you always put a shirt on before getting out of bed? I’ve seen you get dressed! You don’t need to hide anything from me.”

Aziraphale froze, then turned slowly to face Crowley. “When did you see me get dressed?” he asked softly.

“A few weeks ago. I was in snake form and you thought I was asleep.”

Aziraphale was so embarrassed that he couldn’t even speak for a minute. “What did you see?” he said finally, barely above a whisper.

“I saw that you changed clothes really fast, and didn’t even look at yourself in the mirror until you put on your tie. Besides that, what was there to see? I mean, we're...oh, how to describe it in human words...kind of naturally pixelated? Or something like that. You know what I mean."

Aziraphale knew exactly what he meant, of course. Ethereal beings didn't have certain parts that humans did. But that wasn't the point. He just felt uncomfortable showing much skin in general. He didn't have a good explanation for it; it was just part of his personality. 

“I get dressed in front of you all the time!” Crowley added, changing from his pajama pants to a pair of slim black trousers, as if to illustrate his statement.

“Yes, but I never asked you to. And I try not to look.” Aziraphale was, in fact, looking away at this very moment, so as not to see Crowley's bare legs.

Crowley dramatically flailed his arms and turned around in a circle. “What is wrong with you?!” he exclaimed. “We’ve known each other for _ how long _ and you still think you have to hide?”

“I’m sorry we don’t feel the same way about this,” said Aziraphale quietly, and left the room.

_ Oh no, _ Crowley thought.  _ I’ve hurt him. _

A few minutes later, Crowley went to look for Aziraphale.

Aziraphale was sitting on the sofa in the library, looking at the pictures in a bird encyclopedia. Crowley knew that his angel often looked at pictures of animals when he wanted to feel happier. Crowley sat on a nearby chair, unsure of what to say.

Aziraphale finally closed the book and set it aside.

"I've been trying to think of a way to make you understand," said Aziraphale. "You like transforming into a snake, right? It's perfectly natural for you, and you wouldn't be happy if I said you had to stay in human form all the time, and that being a snake was wrong. It's sort of the same for me, except with clothes. I love clothes. You know that. And most of the time, I feel very uncomfortable without them. It's just part of who I am, and it's not hurting anyone, and I don't see why you think it's wrong!" 

Ethereal beings rarely shed tears, but Aziraphale was getting close to crossing that threshold.

Crowley sat quietly, processing what Aziraphale had said.

"Crowley, do you  _ want _ to see more of me?" the angel asked worriedly. “Why do you even care about this?”

"Oh angel…" Crowley said, almost in tears himself. "It's not that at all. I really don't care either way. I suppose I've just been worried that you feel the need to hide yourself from me. I've just been thinking that... basically being husbands...we don't need to have any secrets between us. I was feeling like maybe you don't completely trust me."

"Crowley, I'm sorry, I don't mean it that way at all. I trust you completely. There's nothing secret. It's just one of my many eccentricities, I suppose."

They were both silent for a bit, collecting their thoughts. 

"I think everyone has things they hide," Aziraphale continued. "It doesn't mean those are bad things, or secrets. You and your sunglasses, for example. Don't you wear them a lot of the time to feel like you're blocking out the rest of the world? It's not a secret that you have eyes, but sometimes you feel safer with sunglasses on. And it's not a secret that you exist mainly in human form, but sometimes you feel more comfortable in snake form. And I feel more comfortable with lots of clothes on. I don't hate having a body...but I feel very exposed when I'm not dressed up. It's just a part of who I am. And I love snuggling with you under the covers with our shirts off - it feels so nice, but I just don't want to have to  _ see _ it. I don't know if that makes sense to you, but it's how I feel."

Crowley didn't know what to say, so he moved to the couch to sit beside Aziraphale and hugged him, his face hidden against the angel's shoulder. Aziraphale wasn't quite sure what to do, but ended up gently stroking Crowley's hair.

"I'm so sorry, angel," Crowley finally said, his voice muffled against Aziraphale's shirt. "I was wrong. Nothing is wrong with you.  _ Nothing _ ."

Crowley looked up at Aziraphale, tears about to spill from both of their eyes. "Can you ever forgive me?" Crowley asked. "I don't want to change you. Not at all. Never. You're just  _ perfect _ the way you are. I just didn't really understand, but you explained it perfectly. I won't ever bother you about your clothes again. Wear whatever you want. I won't be offended at all."

"Of course I forgive you," said Aziraphale softly. "I kind of have to," he added, smiling a bit. "Part of the 'being an angel' thing."

"Does it bother you when I'm less than fully dressed?"

"No, that's fine. Well, it’s fine sometimes. I’m getting more used to it over time. But I'm not going to stare at you while you get dressed, either."

“I get it, angel. You’re just a very modest person.”

“Thank you for understanding, Crowley.”


	3. Kittens

Aziraphale woke up in Crowley’s bed...alone. The angel wondered where his best friend was. They usually stayed in bed to cuddle for a while after they both woke up.

Aziraphale got up and walked out of the bedroom. “Ah, there you are!” he exclaimed when he found Crowley sitting at the kitchen table, tracing his fingers along the stems and leaves of one of his smaller plants.

“Oh, hi Aziraphale,” said Crowley, briefly looking up and smiling before focusing on the plant again. “I hope you weren’t worried about me. I just didn’t feel like sleeping, but I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“That’s quite all right,” said Aziraphale. “What are you doing with that plant?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I suppose I was just feeling rather melancholy and figured I’d rather focus on my plant than on my feelings.”

Aziraphale was rather surprised. Crowley had been pretty happy ever since they had moved in together.

“I’m going to make myself some tea,” said Aziraphale. “Do you want anything?”

“How about some coffee? Black, like my soul.”

Crowley wasn’t a complete stranger to coffee - he had a coffee maker in the kitchen - but still, it was an unusual choice for him. _He must really be feeling melancholy today,_ Aziraphale thought, _though I can’t imagine why._

A few minutes later, Aziraphale brought a cup of coffee and a cup of tea to the kitchen table, and sat down across from his friend.

“Is there something wrong, Crowley?” he asked. “I haven’t seen you like this in quite a while.”

“Not really,” said Crowley. “I think that every once in a while, I’m just sad for no reason.”

Aziraphale suddenly had an idea about what might be going on. "Do you think you're sad because you miss being a demon? I mean, actively doing whatever it is that demons usually do? I know that I feel a little off if I go too long without doing some good deeds for humanity."

"Maybe…” said Crowley pensively. “Though I basically think of myself as retired from the demon workforce now. But don't you start calling me retired! It makes me feel old."

The two sat in silence for a while. Eventually Aziraphale remembered something he had been wanting to ask Crowley about.

“Crowley, my dear...would you ever be interested in increasing the size of our family?”

“What are you talking about? It’s not like we can have kids.”

“Well, I’d like to think that we did a decent job helping to influence young Warlock all those years ago...but I was thinking more of getting a pet. I love animals so much, and I’d love to adopt a pet with you. What do you think of a dog, or a cat, or a bird, or even a tree kangaroo?”

"I don't want a pet!” said Crowley in an unusually harsh manner. “I've spent the entire history of the earth without a pet."

“You don’t want a pet?! Why not?” asked Aziraphale, confused.

Crowley evaded the question. “I’m a snake sometimes. Isn’t that enough?” He flicked out his snake tongue.

“You’re not my _pet_ , Crowley, you’re my partner, whether you’re in snake form or not.”

Crowley seemed to be getting anxious. “Why do you want a pet?! What’s the point?” he asked.

“Because I love animals, and I want one of my own! I’m thinking that a cat sounds the most appealing. They’re so furry and cuddly, and they meow and purr! And they’re fairly independent, but still very loving.”

Crowley was silent, but looked about ready to hiss.

“Crowley, what’s wrong?” asked Aziraphale gently. Crowley did not look well. There had to be something terrible going through his mind.

After silently formulating his thoughts for a few moments, the demon got up, walked around the table, and sat on Aziraphale’s lap like a frightened child.

"I'm scared of getting attached to something that will die someday," Crowley said softly, his voice shaking. "Every person I've ever known here has died, or will die. I have you, of course, but when I thought _you_ had died...well, I figured I had nothing to live for anymore. I don't want to love something just to have it die."

"Oh, Crowley…" said Aziraphale. He didn't know what to say, so he just held Crowley close in silence. “I hadn’t even thought about that. Funny how being immortal can make me forget that not everyone else is like us.”

Crowley remained silent, clinging to Aziraphale.

"Maybe we can do some small miracles to help a pet live longer?" Aziraphale suggested.

Crowley nodded. “That could work.”

“I don’t actually know if I could make an animal immortal,” said Aziraphale. “I’m not allowed to mess around with the natural world _too_ much. But I think I could certainly cause a pet to age more slowly than normal.”

“I’ll think about it,” said Crowley. “I really want you to be happy. I just don’t want to be sad.”

“I’m sorry I made you think about sad things,” said Aziraphale. “Why don’t you go cause some demonic chaos? I’m giving you permission. Don’t worry about me. Just go spread some conspiracy theories on the internet or something of the sort.”

“Okay, Azira. If you say so.”

…

A few weeks later, Crowley couldn’t find Aziraphale anywhere in their house. _He must have gone for a walk,_ he thought. 

A few minutes later, Aziraphale came through the door, carrying a rather large plastic box with a handle on top and a metal grate on the front.

“What’s this, angel?” asked Crowley, noticing that his angel seemed particularly delighted.

“I -- well -- oh no, I must have forgotten to inform you,” Aziraphale said. “I went to the animal shelter a while ago and signed us up to be foster parents for kittens. And today, I got a call saying they had a cat for us to take care of…”

Aziraphale set the carrier on the kitchen table and opened its door.

“She’s going to have kittens in a few weeks,” Aziraphale explained. “It’s our job to make sure she has a safe place to give birth, and then make sure the kittens stay alive and safe until they’re old enough to be adopted.”

“Oh Aziraphale, what have you done?” asked Crowley softly, reaching in to pet the cat. “I love her already. And her fur! It’s so...pastel?”

“She’s a dilute calico!” said Aziraphale. “And only about one year old.”

“So young!” said Crowley.

“I figured, this way we can have a pet for just a little while, to see how you like it,” said Aziraphale, “and I know you love babies!”

Crowley hated to admit it, but Aziraphale was right. He loved babies of any species.

“Does she have a name?” Crowley asked.

“No, just an identification number. Do you have a name in mind?”

Crowley thought for a few minutes, while stroking the cat’s fur and scratching her ears. “I think she needs a flower name,” he said. “Something like Poppy, or Lavender, or Dianthus, or Lily, or Jasmine, or Violet!”

“I like Jasmine. I think she looks like she could be a Jasmine, don’t you?”

Crowley was delighted, in spite of his earlier insistence on not wanting a pet. “Our wonderful little Jasmine.”

...

Though angels and demons didn’t need to sleep, Aziraphale and Crowley usually did out of habit, both to take a break from the world for a while and for an excuse to snuggle. But tonight, they both stayed up all night watching the cat. Though she was rather shy, she appreciated being petted, ate some food, and explored the entire cottage.

When Aziraphale and Crowley went to bed together the second night, she jumped onto the bed and purred.

“I already feel like she’s part of our family,” said Aziraphale.

“She is,” said Crowley. “And she’s settling in so well, considering she’s been taken against her will to live with a pair of human-shaped ethereal beings.”

…

A few weeks later, Crowley and Aziraphale witnessed the birth of Jasmine’s four kittens. There were two female tortoiseshells, a female calico, and a male tabby. Aziraphale carefully weighed the kittens each day, as the shelter staff had told him to, to make sure they were growing properly. Jasmine was a very good mother, but still allowed her “humans” to handle the kittens.

By the time they were a few weeks old, the kittens had learned how to climb, making it especially important to keep an eye on them! Crowley loved to put a kitten or two near the hem of his trouser leg to see how far they would climb up him, while Aziraphale would try to get another one to chase a piece of string.

“So, how do you like being a cat dad?” asked Aziraphale as they were playing with the kittens one day.

“I love it. I absolutely adore these kittens. They are the best thing that’s happened in my life in a long time.”

“We have a few more weeks with them before they’re old enough to go back to the shelter to be adopted,” said Aziraphale. “But then we can do this all over again with a new litter of kittens, if you want.”

“I’ll hate to see them go,” said Crowley. “But I feel so honored to have been part of their lives. And you were right. I do love babies. I kind of wish they could stay this small.”

“And I bet you’ve been much happier than you thought you would be about having a pet.”

“This is different,” said Crowley. “We’re not keeping them for their whole lives. It’s hard to be sad when I know they’ll have long, happy lives with a human family.”

Aziraphale was very happy to hear this. “Aren’t you glad we did this?” he asked.

“Most definitely. And angel...we have some time to decide, but what do you think of keeping Jasmine as our own pet after her kittens grow up?”

Aziraphale’s face beamed with pure happiness. “We can think about it,” he said.


	4. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, this chapter heavily implies that Aziraphale reads Good Omens fanfic. ;)

Aziraphale and Crowley were going to bed; tonight Aziraphale had borrowed Crowley's red silk pajamas, while Crowley was in his more casual nightwear of a black T-shirt and shorts. They snuggled together, with Crowley big-spooning Aziraphale. 

But Crowley wasn't actually tired yet, so he figured it was as good a time as any to say some things he'd been mulling over for a while.

"Angel?" he said softly. "I've had something on my mind."

Aziraphale, facing away from Crowley, didn't say anything, but Crowley knew that he was still awake.

"I don't want to argue with you or make you uncomfortable again…" continued Crowley. "I just want to explain something better than I did before."

Aziraphale, feeling a little too tired to start a conversation right now, reached over to gently touch Crowley's arm to let him know that he was listening.

"So, angel...a while ago, when I made you upset because you don't like to change clothes in front of me...I know that wasn't very nice of me, and now I understand your reasons a lot better. I just realized recently why I was thinking the way I did. You see, Hell is a very warm place. Not pleasantly warm, but often uncomfortably hot. So it's acceptable for people to go around without wearing much. And among friends...well, whatever passes for friendship among demons... sometimes we'd have naked pool parties, things like that, and no one cared. So my reasoning was, I've seen so many demons - who I didn't even like that much - without clothes on at one time or another...and because of that, it seems like I've been less intimate with you than I was with them, in a sense. I was just thinking that I would love to see  _ all _ of my husband, at least once. I love you and I think you're beautiful, no matter what you're wearing."

"Well..." said Aziraphale, finally speaking up. "That's something I definitely  _ don't _ want." He then realized that it might be a bit unclear what he had meant by that statement, but decided not to clarify further, since he meant both possible meanings: he didn't want Crowley to see him in a less-clothed state, and he also had little interest in seeing Crowley like that, either.

"And that's perfectly okay," said Crowley. "I know now that you weren't rejecting me or saying you don't trust me. It's mainly a cultural difference between Heaven and Hell."

Aziraphale smiled. He had to agree with that. It helped him understand Crowley better, too. It made more sense now why he sometimes saw Crowley lounging around the house without a shirt on, for example.

"Thank you, Crowley," he said, turning over so he could see his partner's face. "Things make more sense now. And believe me, if for some reason you  _ needed _ to see more of me - though I'm not sure what the circumstances would be - I would let you. It's just not something I find enjoyable. But I know you understand that very well now."

Crowley smiled, glad that Aziraphale had understood his point of view.

"Another thing, angel," he continued. "In case you didn't already know...you can touch me or look at me however you want. I truly don't mind."

"That's good to know," said Aziraphale. "Though I'm certain I'd still ask first."

"That's perfectly fine, angel," said Crowley, reaching over to run his fingers through Aziraphale's fluffy white hair.

"Actually, there's something else that's been bothering me recently," said Aziraphale after a moment.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Well, I've heard some... _rumors_...that you or I had... _affairs_...with various people throughout history."

"Angel, you know that's not true. It's a rather silly idea anyway, for numerous reasons. Not the least of which is, I've never felt love for anyone but you."

"I know, Crowley, but doesn't it bother you? It bothers me. I don't want people to think of me that way. And some people think we do certain  _ unspeakable _ things with each other, too."

"I suppose I just don't care. People can think whatever they want about me. I know the truth, and that's enough, really."

"I'm having a difficult time thinking about it that way."

Crowley reached down to gently hold both of Aziraphale's hands. "Angel, the truth is all that matters. Me staring into your eyes right now - that's the truth. All the time we've spent together - that's also the truth. There's no need to concern yourself with anything else. We're on  _ our _ side. This is  _ our _ relationship. We know each other better than anyone else does.  _ We _ know what it means to be husbands. It's about love and commitment and trust and making each other happy. It's about having gone through so much together that we decided we could never spend another day apart.  _ That's _ the truth."

"Of course it is, Crowley. But I think I'll need you to keep reminding me of that."

"Of course I will."

With all that having been settled, the two got into a comfortable snuggle again and soon fell asleep.


	5. Lonely Nights

Crowley and Aziraphale were prolific snugglers, and Aziraphale seemed to enjoy their nights together as much as Crowley did...so Crowley didn't understand why Aziraphale still wanted to spend some nights by himself. It seemed like a silly little thing, but it bothered him enough that he had to ask about it.

After a restless night alone in his large bed, Crowley got up and made his way to the kitchen, where he was certain to find Aziraphale drinking some cocoa or tea with his breakfast. When he did indeed find his angel there, he sat down at the table across from him. Aziraphale smiled at him, but didn't say anything. They generally liked to be quiet in the mornings, especially since there was rarely anything new for them to say during that time. Small talk over breakfast was not very interesting for two immortal beings who have known each other for thousands of years, even if they had had relatively few breakfasts together before moving into their shared cottage.

Crowley was silent for a few minutes, during which he admired Aziraphale's angelic peacefulness as he sipped his tea and watched birds out the window. Finally he asked the question that had been on his mind for quite some time. "Angel...why don't you want to sleep with me every night?"

Aziraphale, not expecting this question, wasn't sure how to answer. "Um - well - because I  _ like _ sleeping alone sometimes. That's why I insisted on having my own bedroom when we moved in together. Don't you like having the entire bed to yourself some nights?"

"No," said Crowley softly. "I get kind of lonely by myself."

"Lonely?" asked Aziraphale, confused. "We're still in the same house. We see each other most of the day. And how can you be lonely when you're asleep?"

Crowley shifted around in his chair, feeling a bit awkward and embarrassed. "Angel...I just want to be near you all the time, and when you're not there in bed with me, it makes me wonder why you'd rather be somewhere else. I know you love me, but...I feel like you don't love me when you sleep in your room, away from me."

Aziraphale was completely surprised by this. "How could you ever think that I don't love you?" he asked, genuinely confused. Aziraphale felt like he was constantly radiating beams of love in Crowley's direction; he wished that Crowley would notice it more.

"Intellectually speaking, I  _ know _ you love me. But...I guess...I only really feel it when you're right there with me, especially when you're touching me. That's why I love cuddling so much. And at night, I feel especially loved when we're there right beside each other, even when we're asleep. Also...even though you're generally very gentle, I always feel like you need to be there to protect me. It sounds silly, maybe, but I love having a strong angel by my side, even if there's nothing you're specifically protecting me from."

"Crowley...I love you so much! How can you ever doubt that???"

"I don't know, angel. I know I shouldn't. But I still get lonely without you."

"I love sharing a bed with you, Crowley, but I've lived such a solitary life until recently...I still value my alone time. Some nights I just really want to fall asleep in complete darkness and silence, or I want to stay up late reading a book without bothering you."

That made sense to Crowley, and he didn't want to force Aziraphale to give up his occasional solitary nights. He loved Aziraphale too much to force him to do anything.

"How can we make this better, Crowley?" Aziraphale continued. "I don't stop loving you when I'm away from you. I feel intense love for you every minute of the day. I wish you could feel the love that's constantly radiating from me towards you."

"I don't know," said Crowley. "Logically, I know you're right. I just want to not be lonely."

"If it's so hard for you...why even try to sleep at all?" asked Aziraphale. "Neither of us  _ needs _ to. You don't get lonely like this during the day, do you?"

"No," said Crowley. "I suppose I don't."

"So why not do other things instead of sleeping? Go drive your car, or watch movies or something. Sometimes I stay up all night reading. Maybe we could even stay up all night together more often, perhaps going out for a walk and looking for nocturnal animals! My point is...if trying to sleep alone makes you feel lonely, then maybe you just shouldn't try to sleep at all."

"Huh," said Crowley. He loved to sleep, though it had taken on new significance ever since he and Aziraphale had become cuddle buddies. But really, he didn't need to. It was just one of those human activities he participated in without thinking much about it.

"Also," said Aziraphale, "it's usually only two or three nights each month that I want to be by myself for the night. I really don't think that's too much to ask for."

"You're right," said Crowley. "I really shouldn't be so upset about this."

"Oh Crowley, it's okay! I don't want to minimize your feelings about this! I just want you to know - and really feel - the enormous amount of love I have for you. And tonight, I promise, I will hold you close all night long."

"Thank you, angel." Crowley knew he would likely still have some lonely nights, but he would do his best to take Aziraphale's advice - and to remember just how much his angel loved him, even when they were apart.


End file.
